Strasbourg, 25 April 2024
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Aim is to make EU internal market fit for industrial decarbonisation
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The bill supports manufacturing of key technologies needed for EU’s climate and energy objectives
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Faster permitting procedures and establishing net-zero industry valleys
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New criteria for public procurement procedures, auctions for renewable energy sources
On Thursday, Parliament approved the Net-Zero industry Act to bolster EU production in technologies needed for decarbonisation.
The “Net-Zero industry Act”, already informally agreed upon with the Council, sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies.
Technologies to be supported include all renewable technologies, nuclear, industrial decarbonisation, grid, energy storage technologies, and biotech. The law will simplify the permitting process, setting maximum timelines for projects to be authorised depending on their scope and output.
The agreement provides for the creation of “Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys” initiatives, speeding up the permitting process by delegating parts of the evidence collection for environmental assessments to member states.
Sustainability and resilience criteria
National support schemes aiming to get households and consumers to move over to technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps more quickly will have to take into account sustainability and resilience criteria. Public procurement procedures and auctions to deploy renewable energy sources should also meet such criteria, albeit under conditions to be defined by the Commission, and for a minimum of 30% of the volume auctioned per year in the member state, or alternatively for a maximum of six Gigawatt auctioned per year and per country.
The legislation will encourage funding from national Emission Trading System (ETS) revenues and for most strategic projects through the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), and it is a step towards a European Sovereignty fund.
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“This vote is good news for European industry and sets the tone for the next term. To achieve all our economic, climate and energy ambitions, we need industry in Europe. This Act is the first step to making our market fit for this purpose”, said lead MEPChristian Ehler (EPP, DE).
Next steps
The legislation was adopted with 361 votes to 121, with 45 abstentions. It will now have to be formally adopted by Council in order to become law.
Background
A considerable amount of clean energy technology is needed to support reaching Europe’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Europe largely imports these technologies, and many non-EU countries have stepped up their efforts to expand their clean energy manufacturing capacity.
Conference on the future of Europe
The “Net Zero Industry Act” aligns with the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe through several key proposals and measures.. Specifically, the Act reflects Proposal 3 (measures 1, 3, 5, 6), Proposal 11 (measure 1), Proposal 12 (measure 5), Proposal 17 (measure 1), and Proposal 18 (measure 2), which collectively aim to foster a sustainable, resilient, and independent energy framework within the EU.
Further information
Statement des EU-Abgeordneten Ehler (EVP/CDU) zur Annahme des Net-Zero Industry Acts im EU-Parliament
Das Europäische Parlament hat heute den Net-Zero Industry Act final beschlossen. Mit diesem Gesetz soll ein Business Case für die industrielle Dekarbonisierung in Europa geschaffen werden. Dazu erklärt Christian Ehler (CDU), industriepolitischer Sprecher der EVP-Fraktion und Berichterstatter des Europaparlaments:
„Als EVP-Fraktion haben wir immer wieder betont, dass der Green Deal durch eine robuste industriepolitische Maßnahmen unterstützt werden muss. Der Erfolg des Green Deal hängt ganz maßgeblich davon ab, dass Industriepolitik und Klimaschutz gemeinsam gedacht und gemacht werden. Mit dem Net-Zero Industry Act haben wir nun ein Gesetz, damit der Green Deal Katalysator für die Herstellung neuer und sauberer Technologien in Europa werden kann.
Die mit dem Net-Zero Industry Act eingeschlagene Richtung gilt es fortzusetzen. Die klaren Signale für mehr Wettbewerbsfähigkeit aus dem Europäischen Rat lassen darauf schließen, dass es nicht mehr nur CDU, CSU und EVP-Fraktion sind, die für diesen Weg eintreten. Europa braucht einen kohärenten Plan für Investitionen, konkrete Verbesserungen des regulatorischen Umfelds und bessere Rahmenbedingungen für Forschung und Entwicklung. Die Verbesserung unserer wirtschaftlichen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit muss das Leitmotiv der EU für die kommenden Jahre sein.”
Quelle – EVP-Gruppe (per E-Mail)
Renew Europe shapes groundbreaking legislation for EU reindustrialisation
The deindustrialisation of Europe is a real threat. This is the main warning of the recently published Letta report on the current and future state of the Internal Market. And action is urgently needed as the EU´s economy will not thrive without EU industries. That´s why Renew Europe welcomes today’s plenary endorsement of the trilogue agreement on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). This aims to incentivize European reindustrialisation, namely in clean technologies production. Together with the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), the Chips Act, or the Industrial Alliances, the adopted legislation paves significantly the way to regain our industrial sovereignty.
The final compromise expands the scope to all clean technologies contributing to decarbonisation (including renewables and nuclear technologies). Clear, shorter and predictable permitting processes for manufacturing Net Zero technologies plants will be introduced. Additionally, administrative support, public interest status and reduced red tape will also encourage all sort of industries to choose Europe for their next investments. We also made sure that public procurements will be a strong lever where resilience, sustainability and reciprocity from third countries should become the guiding principle.
MEP Christophe Grudler, (Mouvement Démocrate, France), Renew Europe’s shadow on NZIA, declared:
“The EU Green deal will not go through without EU industries. The Net Zero Industry Act will help us to strengthen our industrial sovereignty by expanding the production of clean technologies “Made in Europe”. With this text, we support innovation and facilitate permits, one of the major hurdles for industries to settle in the EU. In the context of anti-competitive practices and massive subsidies from China and the United States, NZIA is the first European answer for our industries to succeed, while reaching our climate goals. The age of innocence is over”.
Likewise, putting in place an ambitious training policy to prepare workers for the challenges of the future labour market is key to fight unemployment, enhance our Union’s competitiveness and increase our industrial sovereignty. In that regard, Renew Europe played a decisive role in ensuring ambitious Net-Zero Industry Academies, a key component of this Regulation to boost EU’s manufacturing leadership in net-zero technologies. These academies will develop training programmes that will cover all types of education and qualification levels, ensuring that all workers can benefit from cutting-edge learning materials.
MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Mouvement Démocrate, France), rapporteur on the opinion issued by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, which had exclusive competences on NZIA, added:
“Ensuring a skilled EU workforce in net zero technologies isn’t just about industrial revival – it’s about reclaiming our sovereignty. We must prioritise ambitious funding for Net Zero Academies to empower individuals through training and fortify the global standing of our companies. Renew Europe has been relentless in pushing for environmental and social criteria in public procurements tied to net-zero projects, championing European businesses and advocating for jobs that embody equality and social justice. This commitment aims to promote European enterprises and cultivate high-quality employment opportunities that prioritize fairness and social equity. It is a first step towards the implementation of a much-awaited ‘Buy European’ Act”.
Finally, the text strikes an adequate balance on tackling EU’s climate targets without undermining the competitiveness of our industries. Thus, the legislation enables a regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage and takes into account proximity and high environmental standards in the development of CO2 transport infrastructures.
MEP Erik Poulsen (Venstre, Denmark’s liberal party), Renew Europe’s shadow on the opinion issued by the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, which had exclusive competences on NZIA, stated:
“EU needs to accelerate the production of clean technologies such as wind turbines, energy efficiency, bio-based technologies and carbon capture and storage technologies to strengthen the competitiveness of net-zero technologies manufacturing in the EU. NZIA provides an ambitious framework with clear, predictable and faster permitting processes while ensuring environmental standards are kept. EU has at the same time taken the first important step towards a regulatory framework for the development of CO2 transport infrastructure needed to accelerate carbon capture and storage technologies”.
Source – Renew Europe (via e-mail)